In an effort to help runners who work in Oakland but live outside the area, Corrigan Sports in partnership with Erdinger Weissbräu, one of Germany’s largest private breweries, will have a special “Happy Hour” Expo on Friday, March 18th from 5 pm to 8 pm at the Oakland Convention Center.

Runners will have the chance to register, pick up their shirt and bibs, browse Oakland Running Festival official merchandise and enjoy free beer from Erdinger. Beer will be served on a first come, first serve basis. Runners will be offered a complimentary Erdinger Non-Alcoholic, an isotonic recovery drink, in addition to alcoholic beer options.

“We do a post-race survey every year and we received a suggestion about a Friday pick-up. We wanted to have a little fun with it and thanks to our friends at Erdinger we are able to make it happen,” stated Gene Brtalik, Oakland Running Festival race director. “This will give those runners who commute more than an hour each day a chance to rest their legs before race day on Sunday.”

The 7th Annual Oakland Running Festival will take place on March 20, 2016. The well-acclaimed event features a full marathon, half-marathon, Hawaiian Airlines Four-Person Relay, Bank of the West 5k, Run the Town Challenge and Kids Fun Run. More than 10,000 runners are expected this year. Registration is pacing 15% ahead of where it was last year.